Post navigation

On Tuesday we learned about Google App Script. I think it’s an awesome tool for us to use.

The fact that it’s Javascript over something like VBScript makes it easier for someone like me to get into, as I can understand Javascript and don’t know a thing about VBScript. That’s the one thing turning me away from writing macros for Microsoft Office; I simply don’t have the time to learn VBScript. I know it’s supposed to be easy, but I think Javascript has more other applications. I could be wrong though.

I could definitely use Google App Script. I work with Excel documents with thousands of rows that I currently use awk to sort through. Perhaps I could write a script with Google App Script to do it more efficiently (although I will say that awk was really, really easy to do!) The fact that Google App Script can work with cells instead of field delimiters like a , or “,” seems like it would make it easier to work with when transforming text.

Let’s say, what percent of us go to the restrooms, powder room, lavatory, john or whatever we name it to check a text message, voice mail, answer or make a call and/or just to play some app games on our phone. Well we would be part of the 750 Americans out of 1,000 that use our phone in the restroom. In the United States, its common how technology these days are improving much faster, but then it seems that we ignore WHERE we use our mobile devices. In class we always discuss the improvements, upgrades, differences of new, old, presently and original devices/technology. But this is a different chance for use to talk about.

Furthermore into the study, it’s funny, sick and not thought of that they found out that 92 percent of the individual respondents wash their hands after using the restroom, BUT while the 14 percent DON’T was their phones. So let’s think about that while a making a phone call, text, game play on your or another’s phone/device.

Going through articles, additionally found is What the heck, while who ever is on the toilet, not only playing apps on our phone but a app that flushes your toilet. One that flushes, cleans after your business and adding more to keep a diary of your stuff to keep you on track to healthy. This article, is a smart phone app that can make your bathroom experience better? Is this something nessary?

Now since we were talking about using mobile devices in the john, I came by an article that a technology device made by Mario Lukas from Germany invented and created a toilet paper dispenser that prints out twitter feedback, yea I said PRINTS OUT on the toilet paper the feedback. Will this be something that we spend much more time in the restroom or is this taken a little too far.

Something funny is going on over at Facebook. A couple days ago, this article hit the internet and has raised some questions about the site’s “like” feature. The author started getting curious about it when he started noticing unusual behavior from some of his Facebook friends, such as anarchists “liking” major corporations and vegetarians “liking” meaty McDonalds meals. What stood out the most was that some of his dead friends had been liking various (usually corporate) pages.

The author contacted Facebook about it, and they (of course) just said that the likes from living users are probably accidental and that the “likes” people make can resurface in their timelines long after they make them, explaining the dead peoples’ Facebook activity. Maybe that’s possible, but it’s not very convincing, especially since this isn’t the first time Facebook has had a problem with fake likes. What’s actually going on (if their story is just a cover) is hard to say. It’s possible that third parties who have access to users’ accounts are selling likes to big companies. Or it could be a problem with the site. Whatever it is, Facebook needs to get it under control. Users don’t like having their accounts manipulated, and shareholders don’t like false information being spread. The only reason Facebook is worth so much money is because they have a mountain of user data that advertisers are interested in, and the less reliable that data becomes, the less Facebook will be worth. However, Facebook has been allowing third parties to run wild on the site since day one. All kinds of apps and games demand full access to users’ profiles in exchange for the service. Now that it has the potential to hurt Facebook, will the company finally crack down on the permissions that third parties can demand?

How many of you have the latest iPhone 5 or the latest Samsung Galaxy S3? How many of us just want the best phone, if money is no matter? How many want what’s “hot” in the technology world? How many just want a phone that can do anything that relates to our life? For example: student, business, marketing, painting, writing, and etc. Do you want a camera, internet connection, games or just a SIMPLE PHONE!?

Well Since the beginning of this course we have been discussing in detail of technology, the design and reason for the design then how today it’s be ing updated, changed and used. In this article it’s similar and/or relates to our discussion/activity on comparing in detail of Facebook and MySpace.

This particular article talks about how Samsung and Apple are in a feud of not only the “similar” designs of the devices, but more into detail the process. From reading this article, what I got out of it was that Apple isn’t only making an announcement that Samsung has obviously “copycat” its design but more of a threat is the “Cook” side of Apple.

“Jobs the credit for the adjectivesbeautiful, elegant, innovative, andfun. We’ll give Cook the credit for the adjectives affordable, reliable, available, and profitable.Jobs designs them, Cook makes them and sells them.”

Meaning that since Job’s part of Apple, which is their design are “copy-able”, like laptops, phones, tablet and etc. But the Cook side of Apple which is the marketing of supplies economically wise is more threaten from reading this article. Besides the lawsuits design wise that Apple is handling, Cook’s side of things are a threat, but can’t be copied. The reason for this is stated that Apple’s decade long process can’t be copied by their rival’s…more toward Samsung can’t manufacture this decade long process in shorter time…or can they?

Basically that Apple’s product time is not fast enough in the product line, unlike Samsung. Since Apple doesn’t want to risk lining up with another company for manufacture. Relating in the article about Dell and Asus computers or HTC One X phone. Samsung is feeding into the mainstream of Apple’s news feed of their technology, meaning that it’s being heard and then customers are comparing but “people aren’t making these decisions based on huge design differences between the devices. The basis of competition has shifted.” Hence “Apple’s economy of scale advantage” Which in the article, Tim Cook announce that manufacturing will move back to the states. Here is another article of Apple and Samsung, “Has Apple created it’s pwn threat in Samsung?”

Overall this relating to the course is we can compare and list the design of the two devices by listing the pros and cons. Furthermore go into detail of the two companies’ strategy of production. Like we did in the Facebook and Myspace talk of the basic design, then going into the uses of them and who uses it.

Greetings peoples of the internet: today I am posting double, like a boss (or a person who forgot to post on time). Any who, while I was researching my last article I came upon an interesting topic no one has touched on yet: viral advertising. With the idea that memes can become copyrighted comes the opportunity to make some serious cash. Images that are openly distributed (like most memes) would be a free way for companies to advertise – or they could pay writers for the service of creating and distributing memes. Imagine that: making a living writing memes.

I can get paid for this crap?

This about the worst thought a student can have during finals season. Anyways, many companies are already using viral advertising. My personal favorites are the Old Spice commercials with Terry Crews. Even Bounce did a shared commercial with Old Spice, which is an interesting idea I haven’t seen before. Viral marketing is not a new idea, however. It has existed in forms separate from entertainment for some time now – this article by Dr. Ralph Wilson on viral marketing techniques was published in 2000, and updated in both 2005 and 2012. The first viral techniques were quite subtle – in the form of links that automatically appeared at the bottom of emails and in other mass-communicable forms.

However, now when someone thinks of viral advertisements, they think of viral videos. With the huge popularity of viral advertising campaigns such as Old Spice, commercial makers have become very aware of the popularity of entertaining, comedic adverts. Is this a good trend? Let us hear your thoughts, o people.

Hello again gang, I hope everyone’s final craze has been okay. I know I have been up since two in the morning – until I realized that I was looking at stupid memes on the internet. In case you have been living under a rock, (or a digital immigrant) memes are viral jokes that are posted online and edited and remade hundreds of thousands of times by other users on the internet. Did you know that there now exists a service that can allow you to protect your own memes as intellectual property? Ben Lashes, who represents the people such as “Scumbag Steve” and the guy who created Keyboard cat in the 1980’s. Guess what? Steve is a actual scumbag in real life, too! Who is bad at rapping!

Conveniently, not pictured is the total lack of a crowd.

Anyway, Ben Lashes is protecting the owners and subjects of memes from people who wish to make money off of them. I was happy to hear this, as he is not trying to prevent distribution of already well-known icons among the internet community. That was my first worry when I saw someone was copywriting memes – as we all know, major businesses are cashing in on the popularity of viral videos and meme. For example, the image of the Dos Equis “Most interesting man in the world” has become a meme – with over 10,000 images in this database alone. So, it is easy to worry when individuals like Ben Lashes begin protecting memes: what if companies begin doing the same? What if Scumbag Steve was the new face for Louis Vuitton?

Do you think it is risky to begin legally protecting memes? Or does protection of the identities of people depicted as memes outweigh the cons?

Being an avid Disney movie fan, I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that Disney has now made a deal with Netflix. The deal consists of an agreement between the two companies that Netflix will be able to stream new Disney releases beginning in 2016. As of now, Disney has a contract with Starz until 2016 and that deal must expire first before the new Netflix deal can take place. Library titles such as Dumbo and Pocahontas will become available immediately. New releases will be streamed once the deal is completed. The details of the financial agreement were not released, but it is estimated that Disney is going to make $300,000,000 annually from this contract whereas HBO, Starz and Showtime have only paid about $20,000,000 for those showing rights. Starz, however, is claiming that they decided to part with Disney, not the other way around.

My question to you is how do you think this new deal between Netflix and Disney is going to affect the entertainment industry? Are deals like these going to hurt television broadcasting and potentially begin to end that industry? Do you think a major company like Disney moving into digital streaming will set a trend that others will follow? What are other impacts of deals like these? Give me your thoughts!